Nancy Lowery

Nancy Ann Albright Lowery of Rayville and Monroe, a beloved daughter, loving sister, devoted mother, cherished grandmother, esteemed nurse, dedicated educator, and forever friend, passed away peacefully at the age of 85, leaving a legacy of compassion, exacting standards, quick wit and an appreciation for nature’s wonders.

Nancy wished for a visitation at the family home, then to be laid to rest beside her adoring husband, Oliver P. “Bud” Lowery, Jr. Visitation will be on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, from 10 AM-12 PM at 170 Clear Lake Road, Rayville, LA. Under the direction of Mulheran Funeral Home, the graveside service will be at 1 PM at the Rayville Masonic Cemetery with her nephew, The Reverend Morgan Stephens Allen, officiating.

Born on December 14, 1939, in Monroe, Louisiana, to Frances and Clay Albright, Nancy was the light of her parents' lives, who often described her as “pure joy.” She was hardworking and fun-loving, known for her legendary sense of humor as the consummate storyteller and entertainer who added joy and laughter to every gathering. Nancy was a taskmaster with equal parts creative and analytical skills, getting more done in a day than others could do in weeks. However, she always wanted to and meant to do more, so much so that she joked her epitaph would be “She Meant To.”

Nancy moved from Monroe to Natchitoches before middle school, where she spent the glory days of her formative years at St. Mary’s Catholic School. After graduating in Nursing from Northwestern State University at age 20, she was chosen from a pool of national candidates to be a private nurse of the former U.S. Secretary of Treasury Douglas Dillon’s mother in Far Hills, New Jersey. During that time, she experienced life in New York City in the early 1960s. She saw original casts in Broadway classics like Camelot and My Fair Lady and discovered the thriving singer-songwriter scene in Greenwich Village.

She earned a master’s degree in Nursing from Emory University on a Fulbright scholarship, one of her proudest achievements. With a passion for education and a commitment to excellence, she devoted 40 years to teaching at the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM).

Praised for her healing hands and unwavering commitment to patient care, she was most in her element with her students for clinical teaching at St. Francis Medical Center and particularly enjoyed neuroscience. Many say that although she was their most demanding professor, she was their favorite because she was fair and made learning fun instead of overwhelming. She served as president of the Louisiana State Board of Nursing in the 1980s, was instrumental in creating testing standards for the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, and was a medical malpractice consultant, all contributing to the advancement of nursing.

Before her tenure at ULM, she was a professor at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. During her time there, she began a courtship with her childhood friend from back home, Bud, who was a fourth-generation family farmer and the love of Nancy’s life until he died of ALS in 2000.

After marrying at Jesus the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in 1966, Nancy built her life with Bud on his family’s farm in Richland Parish. She delighted in restoring his grandparents' stately home on Clear Lake to create an idyllic place to raise three children: Clay Patrick, Katherine Elise “Kate,” and John Oliver.

Nancy was in awe of the beauty and tranquility of Clear Lake. Beneath canopies of live oaks and magnolias, she spent many an hour attending to her gardens, which were lush with azaleas, camellias, gardenias, daffodils, iris, all sorts of lilies, a large variety of roses, among many other plant species. She particularly loved the scent of her butterfly lilies, sweet olives, and tuber roses, saying she imagined “that was what heaven smelled like.” Nancy was not afraid of the challenges of rural life, even wrangling poisonous snakes when necessary, a credit to her strength and fearless nature. Her exacting standards, exceptional eye for detail, and love for gardening and flower arranging reflected her keen sense of beauty. She was always the entertainer and regularly hosted gatherings, such as family Christmas dinners or large wedding announcement parties.

Her three children and three grandchildren were her most considerable pride and joy. They appreciate their “Nan Nan” for teaching them all sorts of things, such as the many names of plants and flowers, knowing their roots, how to always win in tic-tac-toe, how to make a wish with the wishbone, how important it is never to have chipped fingernail polish or chew gum in public, how to bait a hook, how you can always tell a gentleman by his shoes, or how to whip up the perfect grilled cheese, the curious “purple cow,” her crowd-pleasing shrimp dip, or her legendary “trash” snack mix.

When not working in nursing or on the farm, Nancy liked to get away with Bud to New Orleans, try their luck at the riverboat casinos, or head to the fishing camp on Black River Lake. She enjoyed traveling to visit her family from Aspen to Austin, France to Mexico.

Two years ago, Nancy joined the community at the Gardens at Georgia Tucker in Monroe, which once was the elementary school she attended just two blocks away from her childhood home. She loved making new friends there and was always game to play jackpot bingo or attend the casino activities. She also looked forward to monthly lunch outings with “the lunch friends,” quality time with her life-long mainstays, Lynn Hodge and Betty Cummins, and daily chats with her sister Mary, who was not just a sibling but also a best friend.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Oliver P. “Bud” Lowery, Jr.; father, I.D. “Clay” Albright; mother, Frances Adelia Maxey Albright, in-laws, Helene Earle Lowery and Oliver P. Lowery, Sr.; cousin-in-law Carolyn Richardson Whitman; great nephew Henry Maupin Stewart; great niece Ashley Christine Skoba; and dearest friend from Natchitoches, Elise Pearson James.

She is survived by her children Clay Patrick Lowery (Jill), Katherine Elise Lowery, and John Oliver Lowery (Julie); grandchildren Townes Lowery Monteilh, Anna Laura Lowery, and Oliver Winter Lowery; siblings Mary Clay Albright Dezendorf (Richard) and Robert Paul Albright (Bernadette); sister-in-law Helene Lowery Reece; cousin-in-law Patricia Richardson Brice; nephew Rev. Morgan Stephens Allen (Missy); nieces Emma Madeleine Albright, Mary Amanda Allen Stewart (Ned), Emily Frances Allen Hayes (Robert), Jacqueline Reece Mickelson (Marvin) and Pamela Leigh Reece Spitzer (Chris); great nephews Michael Stephens Allen, Jonathan Patrick Spitzer (Amanda) and Austin Reece Skoba; great nieces Mary Virginia Allen, Bailey Frances Stewart, Tracy Suzanne Skoba Goodack (Gavin) and Gabrielle May Spitzer; and many loving friends.

Nancy’s pallbearers will be Oliver Lowery, Townes Monteilh, Ned Stewart, Donnie Foster, Scott Crawford, Les Wisinger, David Preston, Gaines Hodge, Jere Spence, and Jess Cochran.

While Nancy was a stickler for traditions and etiquette but not a conformist, she thought it would be “cool” to have an all-female line-up of honorary pallbearers to recognize her treasured friends Lynn Ho

dge, Betty Cummins, Nancy Breard, Alpha Spence, Emily Doughty, Marguerite McClemore, Eleonor Hatfield, Frances Coenen, Dorothy John, Vail Baldridge, Ellen Kyle, and M'Lou James.

As spring is upon us, let the flowers bloom in her name in nature; in lieu of sending flowers, donations may be made to the Nancy Lowery Endowed Scholarship in Nursing at ULM to continue her steadfast mission of empowering future nurses.

The family sincerely thanks the caring friends and staff at The Gardens at Georgia Tucker, her beloved licensed nurse practitioner, Jennifer Bennett, and the exceptional personal caregivers Brenda Williams, Alicia Robertson, Hollie Reeves, and Gladys Cheffin